As Fundy’s massive tides steadily erode the imposing coastal cliffs and also wash the shores, a large number of wonderful rocks, zeolites and even semi-precious stones are often revealed day by day. The Bay of Fundy absolutely is a rock hounder’s haven.
On the shores in the vicinity of Parrsboro, Nova Scotia, mineral treasures such as amethyst and agate are common discoveries. Parrsboro is also home to the Fundy Geological Museum in which vacationers get the chance to examine mineral terminals and even explore some of the oldest dinosaur bones in Canada and the earth’s 1st reptiles.
During a trip to New Brunswick’s Fundy National Park go look at both tale-telling rock clusters. Although the beige and gray rocks stumbled on around Owls Head are created from sandstone, the volcanic rocks near Point Wolfe illustrate the moving of our land masses, and they are made from light quartz veins, swirling folds and criss-crossing cracks. The oldest rocks in the area can be seen near Point Wolfe. The Caledonia Highlands, which are as old as the Ice Age, will also be found in Fundy National Park.
Several months ago, in the Fall season of 2010, a region in the region of St. John, New Brunswick, became the very first UNESCO recognized Geopark within Canada and the United States. The Stonehammer Geopark runs east from the Fundy Trail Parkway, west near the Lepreau Waterfalls and proceeds inland as far as Norton, Hampton and Grand Bay-Westfield.
Stonehammer’s tagline is “A Billion Years of Stories” and this couldn’t be more valid. From an observation patio by the side of Saint John’s Harbour Passage, visitors look across the Reversing Rapids gorge to witness a pair of continents that slammed into each other millenia earlier. Taking a look across the gorge, the rocks located on the left come from the Cambrian period (roughly speaking 500 million years of age) while the lighter greyish rocks on the right come from the Precambrian period (seven hundred and fifty million-1.2 billion years old). Stonehammer has rocks of almost all of the geologic eras aside from the Tertiary and Jurassic eras.
Further Stonehammer Geopark sites include the Irving Nature Park, Rockwood Park, Dominion Park, Tucker Park, Fort Howe and King Square West. You’ll discover more than two hundred possible places of geological significance through this 2800 km2 region.
Find out more about the geological formation of the Bay of Fundy on the official Bay of Fundy website.